LEMOORE, Calif. – Former WEC lightweight champion “Razor” Rob McCullough (18-6) returned to the site of his first professional MMA contest in Lemoore, Calif., and earned a much-needed stoppage win over current Tachi Palace Fights featherweight champion Isaac de Jesus (9-2).

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) lead staff reporter John Morgan was on hand as part of the broadcast team for the GoFightLive.tv stream.

McCullough and de Jesus traded smiles and leg kicks through most of the opening round. With a large contingent of the crowd supporting the Stockton, Calif.-based de Jesus, the two fighters circled in an entertaining Muay Thai fight for several minutes. While McCullough looked a bit more comfortable than he had in some of his final WEC contests, it was still de Jesus who appeared to be getting the better of the standup exchanges.

One mistake cost him.

McCullough alertly caught a de Jesus body kick and threw him on his back. From there, “Razor” swarmed on the attack and unleashed a barrage of shots that left de Jesus bloody and defenseless on the floor, forcing referee Marcos Rosales to halt the action with 29 seconds remaining in the opening round.

In other notable action, Tachi Palace Fights welterweight champion David Mitchell (11-0) again looked unbeatable on the ground as he simply pulled guard early and then swiftly transitioned from gogoplata to omo plata before finally settling on a triangle choke. The linking was seamless, and opponent Poppies Martinez (18-7) was trapped.

Rather than tap, the hometown hero and “Tachi Kid” went to sleep just 92 seconds into the title fight.

While he came in overweight and undertrained, War Machine (11-4) proved his heart in a three-round battle. Opponent John Alessio (29-13) patiently attacked in the opening frame before turning up the heat on War Machine in the final two frames. Alessio nearly had it finished in the second with a variety of choke attempts, but the end finally came in the third when a tight rear-naked choke put War Machine to sleep.

Gabe Ruediger (17-5) claimed Tachi Palace Fights’ vacant lightweight title with a scintillating performance against the previously unbeaten Lenny Lovato (8-1). Ruediger swarmed from the opening bell and after some crisp striking in the clinch early, “Godzilla” took Lovato to the floor and attacked. Not finding room for a rear-naked choke, Ruediger instead settled on a devastating barrage of punches from back mount that left Lovato stunned and defenseless.

The contest was stopped at the 3:25 mark of the opening round.

Olympic silver medalist Stephen Abas (2-0) picked up his second career win with a dominating three-round decision over an outclassed Joey de la Cruz (1-1).

Finally, 19-year-old youngster Michael McDonald (10-1) made a claim for “Knockout of the Night” with a barrage of right hands that left the experienced Cole Escovedo (16-5) out on his feet. McDonald claimed the Tachi Palace Fights bantamweight title with the win while also avenging the lone loss of his career.

Dominique Robinson (5-4) also could share in that “Knockout of the Night” award with his finish of David Kaplan (2-4). “Diamond Dave” moved forward throughout the contest, but he couldn’t work Robinson to the floor. When “The Fallen Angel” found his mark on the feet, a few devastating knees from the clinch followed by a brutal series of elbows sealed the result.

David Bollea (3-0) added to the evening’s nice submission work with a slick armlock that caught Cody Gibson (3-1) by surprise. Bollea remains undefeated in his career, as does Drew Bittner (4-0), who picked up a win in the night’s first contest.

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